IU football coach Curt Cignetti is always on the hunt for complacency in his program.
And coming off a record setting season, he knows better than anyone there is a risk his players won’t enter 2025 spring practice with the same focus and determination they had a year ago.
Last year Indiana was coming off a 9-27 record over the three prior seasons. With a new coach and overhauled roster, everyone top to bottom was focused on quieting the doubters and making a statement: This is the new Indiana.
The way Cignetti operates, every year is the new Indiana. Every day is a new day. Be where your feet are, you’re either getting better or getting worse every moment, he likes to say.
No one in Bloomington is happy the Hoosiers were defeated convincingly by Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff three months ago.
But as a man on the hunt for complacency, Cignetti does see some utility in the disappointing performance in South Bend.
“The key to the drill is that everybody is highly motivated, and humble and hungry, and starving for success coming off that kind of year,” Cignetti said on the Hoosiers Connect podcast released this week. “The silver lining of that Notre Dame game, which I was very disappointed in the way we played, is it left a bitter taste in your mouth and creates motivation heading into this season.”
Indiana’s only two losses in an 11-2 season came on the road against the two teams that ended up playing in the National Championship game. There’s no shame in coming up short in those contests.
But something else humbling the Hoosiers this spring is the way they played in those contests. They aren’t satisfied with just making the CFP. And to take the next step, they know they have to be more composed on the game’s biggest stage.
Indiana made major mistakes in the punting game and struggled with crowd noise at Ohio State, and a defensive mistake allowed a tone-setting 98-yard run at Notre Dame.
“I hope it (the moment) wasn’t too big, but at times, it would be fair to say from an outsiders point of view that it felt that way,” Cignetti said.
Maybe it was too much too fast for Indiana last year. 9-27 to 11-2 certainly isn’t going to be seamless.
There will be plenty of high profile opportunities in 2025, including games at Penn State, Oregon and Iowa. Perhaps the lessons learned at Notre Dame and Ohio State will pay off this time around.
Cignetti will go so far as to say he likes the direction things are headed as the Hoosiers open spring practice this weekend.
But still, every day is a new day. And in so many ways, these 2025 Hoosiers are starting over, even with some wisdom gained along the way.
“There’s so many intangibles that go into it,” Cignetti said. “Your culture, which right now looks real good. Your mindset, your identity, all those things have to be earned.”
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